John Wick Original Motion Picture Soundtrack

Tyler Bates is a favourite film composer of mine having composed the scores for countless fantastic console games and intense genre movies such as the Dawn of the Dead remake and 300, so I was excited at the opportunity to listen the soundtrack of John Wick, a crazy-looking, action-packed assassin movie that I’ve been desperate to see ever since I heard about it. The film was released in the USA in October, and now I have to wait to see it in the UK until January 2015, so I’ve consoled myself by listening to the soundtrack first.

And the soundtrack makes me want to see the film even more, because I have to see the no-doubt crazy action scenes that accompany the pulse-pounding tracks “Assassins”, “Shots Fired”, “Hotel Throwdown”, “Warehouse Smackdown” and “Dock Shootout”! The titles alone are an action movie fan’s idea of heaven, and the tracks themselves are fast-paced, energetic and a clear indication that the film will be a lot of fun.

Aside from these the score also boasts some seriously “Bad-Ass” themes such as “Lure The Wolf” and “On The Hunt”, which may well be my favourite track of the album, and more contemplative pieces such as the introductory track “Every End Has A Beginning” and “Daisy”.

Elsewhere on the album we find compositions from other artists – “Evil Man Blues” by The Candy Shop Boys is an easy-going jazz track with vocals that positively drip honey, the dark, dreamy “In My Mind” by M86 & Suzie Q, “Think” by Kaleida and the confrontational, seriously bad-ass “Who You Talkin’ To Man” by Ciscandra Nostalghia, which is the kind of track that makes you imagine the dark, brooding hero striding into a nightclub full of armed gangsters, ready to take them on.

It may not be for everyone but overall the John Wick soundtrack album is a superb collection of bad-ass, action packed tracks, supported with a handful of other, evocative pieces of music. I just can’t wait to see the film and hear it in context.